Scary world of pop music

To some of us paying attention, this is kind of a "duh!" but, imagine this - "Popular song lyrics contain sex, alcohol, and no regrets."  Read here.  You'll also find a link there to Billboard Magazine's coding.

In the study, called "Degrading and Non-degrading Sex in Popular Music: A Content Analysis," he found that 103 of the 297 songs referenced sexual activity. Out of those, degrading references occurred 65 percent of the time, whereas non-degrading lyrics occurred 36 percent of the time.
Additionally, songs with references to degrading sex also were more likely to include references to substance use, violence and weapons.

In an analysis performed by the Deseret News, nine of the top 20 Billboard hits of 2011 contained an overall theme of sex and explicit sexual references throughout the entire song, including Katy Perry's "E.T.," Rihanna's "What's My Name?" and Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger." The top 20 songs contained at least 40 references to sex or a sexual act and more than 50 references to a short-term hookup.

DesNews

Pornography Initiative

Click here to read about this in the Deseret News. Another article can be found here (porn grips you with claws). This is well worth reading and discusses scientific studies about it.

Proverbs 17: 15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

Sign of the times...

(Ken shared this one - click post title to read on ABC)

Atheists Break Out New Ritual Tool: The Blow-Dryer

Nonbelievers Adopt Provocative Ceremony to Make a Point About Baptism

By DAN HARRIS, ERIC JOHNSON and MARY FLYNN July 16, 2010

Wielding a blow-dryer, a leading atheist conducted a mass "de-baptism" of fellow non-believers and symbolically dried up the offending waters that were sprinkled on their foreheads as young children.

At the annual American Atheists Convention, one of atheism's premier provocateurs, Edwin Kagin, faced the crowd and raised high a hairdryer labeled "Reason and Truth."

(ABC News)

At the annual American Atheists Convention, one of atheism's premier provocateurs, Edwin Kagin, faced the crowd and raised high a hairdryer labeled "Reason and Truth."

Said one woman who traveled from Cincinnati to undergo the de-baptism, "I was baptized Catholic. I don't remember any of it at all." The woman, Cambridge Boxterman, 24, added, "According to my mother I screamed like a banshee, and those are her words, so you can see that even as a young child I didn't want to be baptized. It's not fair. I was born atheist and they were forcing me to become Catholic."

New Church Website

New resource - Combating Pornography - Replacing darkness with light

Pornography is a real evil because it degrades the senses, destroys self-worth and family relationships, leads to addiction, and separates an individual from God. There is hope if you, or a loved one, struggle with addiction.  check it out.

To keep us going for the next six months....

The Salt Lake Temple, reflecting pond, and Conference visitors
The World Famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir with organ pipes
Inside view of the conference center that seats 21,000. More were seated in overflow buildings
Conference visitors enjoying a beautiful spring day in front of the Tabernacle.
President Monson waving to the crowd.
The Deseret News summed up Sunday's conference session (photos from DesNews.com):

The day's two sessions featured several recurring themes — several Easter-time messages and calls to turn to the temple — and President Monson's morning-meeting assurance for members to have faith and not fear.

However, the church president strongly cautioned in his afternoon address for Latter-day Saints to avoid the adversary's destructive means — such as evil uses of the Internet, particularly pornography.

"My brothers and sisters, involvement in such will literally destroy the spirit," he said. "Be strong. Be clean. Avoid such degrading and destructive types of content at all costs — wherever they may be. I sound this warning to everyone, everywhere. I add — particularly to the young people — that this includes pornographic images transmitted via cell phones."

What is the Church doing?

If you have difficulty viewing this here, you can get it at the website (click the title of this post).

Click on the post title for the website Preserving Marriage. This is a church sponsored website that shows many aspects of our lives that will be impacted negatively if Proposition 8 fails in California. Again, liberals believe this is showing tolerance, acceptance and love. In fact, it is opening a Pandora's box of trouble. If you favor making marriage a joke which could be entered into by anyone, regardless of gender, you have not looked at the bigger picture. This goes way beyond religious beliefs and tolerance. You can accept others' differences with love without redefining marriage to suit them and without allowing them to interfere with the rights of the rest of us. Wouldn't we all love to see laws change to suit our chosen sins against society?

The Church has joined a coalition of Catholic and Evangelical community groups and individuals to support traditional marriage and its role in society by seeking the passage of Proposition 8.

How Will it Affect You?

One family's experience in Massachusetts is shown here.



This is the reason homeschooling will continue to grow in popularity. This is also the reason vouchers should be available for people who refuse to have this nonsense as part of the required curriculum. It isn't about letting gays live the way they want; it's about a campaign to make wrong right and force this belief on everyone. We know who is leading this campaign and they get our tax dollars to provide this "education."

It is so sad that the American People have put up with this for so long. We allow them to remove Christ and all mention of Christmas, we allow them to teach evolution without opposing views of creationism. They invade our homes, our families and, when made legal, even our churches. If you don't think this is true check with the Catholics to learn how their adoption policies, which preclude gay couples, was ruled against the law once gay marriage was legalized. The right to religious freedom is one of our most basic rights in this country. The founding fathers never intended a state religion of "no religion." Read the actual amendment - the state cannot interfere with free worship and yet that is exactly what they are doing now.

We even allowed a judge's ruling in Roe vs Wade determine our abortion laws. Now there is legislation proposed to prevent doctors whose moral views prohibit such practice from choosing not to perform abortions. The majority of Americans oppose abortion but now we can't even get all the states to approve stillborn babies' Certificate of Birth, Resulting in Stillbirth because the abortion proponents fear it will give credence to a baby's life and therefore interfere with the woman's "right" to abort. Once again the liberal agenda tramples the rights of others in the name of rights for all.

Click on the post title to read more of how the media supports the liberal view and avoids sensitive issues where they might look bad, while exploiting the candidates with moral values by playing up the issue. There is no balance in journalism wherein the media would put just as much emphasis on Obama's pro-abortion stance as they do on Palin's pro-life stance.

As I've said before, I don't have warm, fuzzy feelings for any candidate this year but the media bias sickens me. It's frightening what is happening in this country and we should be outraged.

Church Backs California Marriage Measure

Click on title to read story from Deseret News.

More here: http://mormontimes.com/ME_health.php?id=1792
And here: http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/080818marriage.html

If all Christians, Jews and other religious sects who value traditional marriage as ordained of God would join together, rather than fighting amongst themselves; if they would all work for good rather than wasting time and energy attempting to define what other Christians are and believe such as refuting LDS as Christians, etc. there would be much power in the numbers and good would prevail over evil. There really are eternal truths; right and wrong. It's not just "do whatever feels good.This doesn't mean religionists can't differ in beliefs but on basic values, they must pull together.

If each denomination would make a statement such as this and all members would take action, vote, petition, etc. there still is a chance to protect the sanctity of marriage and the rights of churches to function according to belief. The phrase, "divide and conquer" definitely applies when it comes to the adversary getting Christians to fight rather than unite for the common good. " A good commentary on this is in C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters.

Right now they say this is a civil matter of recognition, but they know full well that it's only a matter of time before they inflict their "equality" on to churches and use government arm-twisting such as compromised tax-exempt status to make them accept what society has deemed to be right. Think this won't affect you as a religious person? It has already happened for many. If you want to read how this is playing out currently, check this site. www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486191

When one wants to do wrong, what better protection does he have than to get society to change the rules to sanction his actions? If as a society we choose to accept other wrongs, the wrong-doers can be relieved of guilty conscience - wrong becomes "right" in the eyes of the world.

OFFENSIVE AD: Heinz is marketing mayo and mustard in England with an ad featuring a homosexual couple, including kissing. Now you tell me, why would this be relevant for selling condiments? Obviously they are selling something else. I find it offensive. If you want to actually see the ad which is sure to reach the U.S. eventually (sans the accents) you can see the ad at AFA (cut and paste). www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=324

If you are interested in reading about the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, go here:
http://religions.pewforum.org There are some interesting statistics about various religious denominations on a wide variety of subjects. The left sidebar will take you to this particular topic of gay marriage.

Truth About Smut

Book Review

What's the Big Deal About Pornography?

By Jill C. Manning Ph.D.

Reviewed by Andrew Marshall
Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2008

What industry generates more than $90 billion a year, more revenue than Google, Microsoft or Apple? What industry receives $3,075 in online sales from more than 28,000 people every second?

This same industry once only survived from those bold enough to walk to a shady area of town to buy a magazine or see a movie. Now, this industry dominates screens, books and magazines everywhere.

It's the industry of pornography, and Dr. Jill Manning's book is here to tell us why it is such a big deal.

In her book, What's the Big Deal About Pornography?, Manning seeks to "arm you with truths the pornography industry does not want you to know." Manning is a practicing marriage and family therapist in Denver. The book is an "expanded version" of therapy sessions held with a group of adolescent boys who had a pornography addiction.

One of the major strengths of the book comes from Manning's clarity. There is no question as to what pornography is or what its effects can be. Manning's argument is compelling, convincing and critical.

The book begins with her definition of pornography, which is more specific than what many teenagers might think.

Manning writes that "pornography is material specifically designed to arouse sexual feelings in people." This comes from more than graphic Web sites and late-night cable television programming. She identifies music videos and other media as pornographic though they are not commonly labeled as such.

Manning leaves no excuse and has no toleration for pornography in any of its forms. She claims that it "hinders a person's abilities to make clear choices" and can "distort a person's outlook on bodies, relationships, sexuality, and gender."

Short vignettes appear throughout the book describing the experiences of teenagers who have suffered from the effects of pornography. Some begin to struggle in their relationships; others are expelled from their school; still others have encounters with sexual predators on the Internet.

Often after one of these vignettes, Manning will ask questions to the reader about the situation. She also includes spaces throughout the book for readers to write thoughts or ideas to her prompts. The interactivity the book provides is engaging and could prove beneficial, particularly for those with a pornography addiction.

While the focus of the book is on what pornography is, and on its detrimental effects on individuals and society, Manning also addresses subjects that directly relate to pornography. Masturbation, sex education and how to achieve a healthy lifestyle are all highlighted in the book.

The book does not explain what to do if the reader one day encounters pornography, but rather, what to do when the reader encounters it. She mentions practical ways of avoiding pornography and what to do when it shows up (such as identifying it, covering your eyes, literally leaving the room or turning off the computer, and telling someone you trust about the experience and how you felt).

Manning is an academician, but her writing is clear and simple. She uses lists and bullet points throughout the book that add to its aesthetic appeal. The book could be beneficial for adolescents, young adults and adults alike, with or without a pornography problem. Manning focuses on adolescents but also discusses what to do if a spouse or parent has a problem with pornography.

The details in the book are another forte - everything from the shocking statistics to the eye-opening section about the awful lifestyle porn stars live. After reading the book, one cannot help but feel repulsed that such a thing as destructive as pornography could have its grip so tightly around the youth of society.

Manning lays out the ominous truth about pornography's prevalence in our society and its many negative impacts, but also offers many solutions and ways to escape from its snares - individually and as a community.

Manning, who received her doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from Brigham Young University, has researched the effects of pornography for academic and political institutions. In 2005 she testified before the U.S. Senate regarding the problems of pornography.

Source:
Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:40 p.m. MDT